U.S. Soccer Wire: U-23 MNT to Face St. Kitts & Nevis Wednesday

NewsNov 17, 2003

U-23s DOWN ST. KITTS 6-0, PREPARE FOR SECOND LEG IN MARYLAND: The U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team will finish the second round of CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying on Wednesday, Nov. 19 in Maryland with the second leg of their home-and-home series against the tiny Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts & Nevis, after taking the first game 6-0 last Saturday in Bassaterre, St. Kitts. Eddie Johnson and Edson Buddle each scored two goals, while Bobby Convey and Alecko Eskandarian added a goal and an assist each, as the U.S. dominated play for most of the match. For the return leg, the U.S. will host St. Kitts & Nevis at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Md. Kickoff for the match is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. The winner of the series will be determined by aggregate goals for both matches. Fans can follow the action live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics. Tickets are still on sale at any Washington-Baltimore-area Ticketmaster outlet (including Hecht's stores), charge by phone [D.C. 202-432-SEAT (7328); Baltimore 410-481-7328; Northern Virginia 703-573-7328; or out-of-state 1-800-551-7328], or at ussoccer.com. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $25 for midfield general admission. The seven teams who advance out of the second round will join host nation Mexico from February 2-12, 2004, to compete in two groups of four, with the top two teams in each group earning a spot in the single elimination semifinals. The two finalists will receive CONCACAF’s two automatic berths for Athens 2004.RONGEN NAMES 20-MAN ROSTER FOR WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP IN UAE: Last week, United States Under-20 Men’s National Team head coach Thomas Rongen named his 20-player roster that will represent the U.S. at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates from Nov. 27-Dec. 19. Of the players selected, 15 were part of the squad that took second in CONCACAF Qualifying in Charleston, S.C., in November of last year to qualify for the USA’s fourth consecutive World Youth Championship. Rongen selected a squad with a large amount of professional experience, as eight players are currently playing in Major League Soccer and two are playing professionally in Europe. Additionally, exactly half the squad will bring world championship experience as ten players on the team participated with the U.S. in the 2001 FIFA Under-17 World Championship in Trinidad and Tobago. The team will travel to UAE on Saturday, Nov. 22 and conduct a week of training before the tournament, which will include a friendly against Panama on Tuesday, Nov. 25 in Abu Dhabi. The U.S. was drawn into Group F and will play all three of its games at Al-Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The Under-20s will open the tournament on Nov. 29 against Paraguay, before meeting Germany on Dec. 2, and finishing group play against South Korea on Dec. 5. Every U.S. match at the World Youth Championship can be followed live via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics. All three U.S. games will also be televised in the U.S. on Galavision (see schedule below).U.S. Under-20 MNT ScheduleDate Opponent Kickoff (local) TVNov. 29 Paraguay 8:30 a.m. ET (live) & PT (tape) GalavisionDec. 2 Germany 8:30 a.m. ET (live) & PT (tape) GalavisionDec. 5 South Korea 1:30 p.m. ET & PT (tape) GalavisionU.S. Under-20 Roster – FIFA World Youth ChampionshipGOALKEEPERS (2): Steve Cronin, Ford Williams; DEFENDERS (7): Ryan Cochrane, Jordan Harvey, Craig Jared Klaas, Chad Marshall, Drew Moor, Jordan Stone, Zak Whitbread; MIDFIELDERS (7): Arturo Alvarez, Ricardo Clark, Bobby Convey, Clint Dempsey, Ned Grabavoy, David Johnson, Justin Mapp; FORWARDS (4): Knox Cameron, Ed Johnson, Mike Magee, Santino Quaranta.

VOTING FOR SECOND ANNUAL “BEST OF” AWARDS CONTINUE AT ussoccer.com: Online voting for the second annual “Best of U.S. Soccer” Series continues at ussoccer.com until Dec. 9, with the best and most creative organizations, ideas, players and teams being singled out in 11 categories honoring the Best of U.S. Soccer for the calendar year of 2003. With the help of U.S. National Team coaches Bruce Arena and April Heinrichs, U.S. Soccer has selected the finalists for nine of the 11 awards from Best Soccer Story to Best U.S. Goal. Fans were responsible for nominating the finalists of two categories – Best Soccer Bar and Best Soccer Store. Between now and Dec. 9, fans who vote at ussoccer.com can watch video of each of the 12 finalists for youth and full national team “Goal of the Year” and will also have a chance to win a variety of special prizes from Philips Electronics. As the voting for 2003 “Best of U.S. Soccer” awards series concludes, U.S. Soccer will announce the seven suggested candidates for each of the four annual Chevy Athlete of the Year awards: Young Female, Young Male, Female and Male. As the oldest and most prestigious award of their kind, U.S. Soccer’s Chevy Athlete of the Year awards date back to 1984 for the men and 1985 for the women, with the winners of the two major awards receiving vehicles from Chevrolet. For the fourth straight year, fan votes (along with a media vote) will decide the winners. Voting will begin at ussoccer.com in December and run through early January.Best of U.S. Soccer 2003 Awards:Best U.S. Soccer Story Best Soccer PromotionBest Soccer Bar Best Game Performance – PlayerBest Soccer Store Best Game Performance – TeamBest U.S. Crowd Best U.S. Goal – Youth National TeamBest Soccer Stadium Best U.S. Goal – Full National TeamBest Soccer FansCOSTA RICA, EL SALVADOR, JAMAICA, HONDURAS ALSO GET WINS IN QUALIFYING: In addition to the U.S. and St. Kitts & Nevis, 10 other CONCACAF teams played the first leg of their respective second round Olympic Qualifiers on Saturday and Sunday. Álvaro Saborío scored four goals for Costa Rica at home in the Estadiu Fello Mexa in Carago as the Ticos topped Guyana 7-0 on Saturday. Also on Saturday, El Salvador’s Josué Galdámez converted an 85th minute penalty for a 1-0 win over Canada in San Salvador. In the final Saturday match-up, Grenada played visiting Trinidad & Tobago to a 1-1 draw at the Grenada National Stadium in St. George’s. On Sunday, Luton Shelton scored a pair of goals for Jamaica at the National Stadium in Kingston in a 2-0 win against Guatemala, while Emil Martinex tallied for Honduras in the third minute to give his side a 1-0 victory over Haiti, which played it’s home leg in the Orange Bowl in Miami, Fla. The second leg of the series will be played later this week with Canada hosting El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago hosting Grenada, Guatemala hosting Jamaica and Honduras hosting Haiti on Wednesday. Costa Rica will travel to play Guyana on Sunday, Nov. 23 in Berbice, Guyana.

TWO OF THREE U.S. OPPONENTS SET FOR 2004 CONCACAF WNT OLYMPIC QUALIFYING: Haiti and Trinidad & Tobago will join the USA in Group B of the final round of the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, to be held from February 25 - March 7 in Costa Rica. Both Caribbean nations won two-game series to earn their berth into the eight-team tournament from which the top two countries will earn berths to the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. The top two teams from each group after round robin play with advance to the semifinals. The semifinal winners will earn the Olympic spots, and then play for the CONCACAF title. Haiti had few problems with the host Dominican Republic, winning the first leg 7-0 as Judith Pierre scored twice, then came from behind to take the second leg, 3-2. Both matches were played at San Cristóbal Football Stadium. T&T also defeated a host country, downing Suriname 6-2 on aggregate, winning the first leg 2-0 and the second, 4-2. Both matches were played at Andres Kamperveen Stadium in Parmaribo. Mexico will likely join the USA, Haiti and T&T as the fourth team in Group B. Mexico will be a heavy favorite when they take on Honduras and Nicaragua in a three-team preliminary round competition at the Estadio Tiberacio Carias Andino in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, from December 10-14. Canada and host Costa Rica are in Group A, and await the winners of the Jamaica, Cayman Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands and Guatemala, Panama and Belize preliminary groups. The USA has played T&T six times in its history, three of those coming in Women's World Cup Qualifying, and won all six by a 47-2 goal margin. The USA's only meeting with Haiti came in CONCACAF qualifying for the 1991 Women's World Cup in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a 10-0 U.S. victory. U.S. stars Joy Fawcett, Julie Foudy, Kristine Lilly and Mia Hamm all played in that match. U.S. head coach April Heinrichs scored two of the 10 goals. The USA's trip to Costa Rica will be the first-ever for the U.S. Women to Central America.

-- U.S. YOUTH NATIONAL TEAM UPDATE --

U.S. U-17 ‘87s and ‘88s RECORD WINS OVER THE WEEKEND: The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Teams went a combined 3-0 in matches played in Ft. Lauderdale this past Sunday, outscoring their opponents 10-2. The U.S. U-17 ‘88s played two matches against local clubs, beating the U-19 West Pines 4-1 and U-18 Strike Force 3-1. Against the West Pines, forward Quavas Kirk led the way with two goals in a two-minute span in the first half. Midfielder Jonathan Villanueva opened the scoring in the seventh minute and Blake Wagner capped off the scoring in the 21st minute as the U.S. scored all four of its goals in 15-minute span. Villanueva contributed two assists, while Michael Dalpra added one. In their second match against the Strike Force, midfielder Michael Farfan was involved in all three of the USA’s goals. Farfan assisted on forward Estuardo Sanchez’ strike to open up the scoring in the 14th minute. Three minutes later, roles were reversed as Sanchez set up Farfan for his first goal of the match. In the 76th minute, Farfan sealed the win with an unassisted goal in the 76th minute. The U.S. U-17 ‘87s played only one match, downing U-19 West Kendall 3-0. Freddy Adu opened the scoring, slotting home a penalty kick in the 28th minute. Forward Rodrigo Hidalgo did the rest, scoring in the 56th and 88th minute off of services from midfielders Christian Jimenez and Eric Avila, respectively.

2003 M.A.C. HERMANN TROPHY FINALISTS FOR MEN AND WOMEN ANNOUNCED: The men’s and women’s semifinalists for the 2003 Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy, the highest individual award in intercollegiate competition, were announced last week. There are 15 semifinalists for both the men and women on the ballot. Division I coaches who are members of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), the official voting body of the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy, will cast votes to determine the winner. The three women’s finalists will be announced at the NCAA Women's College Cup, to be held the first weekend in December in Raleigh, N.C., while the three men’s finalists will be announced at the NCAA Men's College Cup, which will be held the second weekend in December in Columbus, Ohio. Both the men’s and women’s finalists will be invited to the Missouri Athletic Club on Friday, Jan. 9, 2004, for a news conference announcing the winner. A banquet that evening will include the formal presentation of the prestigious crystal soccer ball trophy to the winners.M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Finalists – MenName Year Pos. CollegeRyan Cochrane: Junior, D, Santa ClaraCesar Cuellar: Senior, F, ConnecticutNed Grabavoy: Junior, F, IndianaAdolfo Gregorio: Senior, M, UCLAWilliam Hesmer: Senior, GK, Wake ForestSumed Ibrahim: Senior, M, MarylandC.J. Klaas: Junior, M, WashingtonAaron Lopez: Junior, D/M, UCLAChad Marshall: Soph., D, StanfordGuy Melamed: Junior, D, Boston Coll.Joseph Ngwenya: Senior, F, Coastal Car.Abe Thompson: Junior, F, MarylandDavid Wagenfuhr: Senior, M, CreightonJeremiah White: Senior, F/M, Wake ForestChris Wingert: Senior, M, St. John's

FIRE, EARTHQUAKES TO MEET AT THE HOME DEPOT FOR MLS CUP 2003: The Chicago Fire and the San Jose Earthquakes will clash in MLS Cup 2003 this Sunday at The Home Depot Center as they both won their respective Conference Championships in dramatic fashion this past weekend. The Fire kept their hopes for the Triple alive as the U.S. Open Cup champion and Supporters Shield winners got a golden goal from captain Chris Armas in the 101st minute of overtime against the New England Revolution on a chilly Friday night at Soldier Field. The following day, the San Jose Earthquakes got a golden goal of their own off the foot of Landon Donovan as the U.S. National Team striker scored in the 117th minute of overtime to continue the Quakes unbelievable playoff resurgence, which started last week when they stunned the Los Angeles Galaxy with five unanswered goals after falling behind 2-0 in the match and 4-0 in the series. The Conference Champions will meet for MLS Cup 2003 at The Home Depot Center on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 12:30 p.m. PT , live on ABC.USL’S DAVE ASKINAS PROMOTED TO CEO: During the United Soccer Leagues Annual Operation Meeting in Florida last week, it was announced that USL executive Dave Askinas was promoted to the position of CEO. Askinas joined USL in May of 1997 as the General Counsel and Associate Commissioner and was later promoted to Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer in November of 2001. Askinas said he was honored by the promotion and intends to “continue working with our franchises to help them be successful and to fulfill our mission of providing the best in affordable family soccer entertainment to our fans.”

- U.S. SOCCER SPOTLIGHT -

PEAK PERFORMER: Not known for scoring, Chicago Fire midfielder and captain Chris Armas slammed home the golden goal in the first overtime period against the New England Revolution to clinch a spot in MLS Cup 2003 this Sunday, Nov. 23, at The Home Depot Center. The goal was just his third on the year and 12th of his career in both the regular season (8) and playoffs (4) in eight seasons in the MLS.

MARQUEE MATCH-UP: The Chicago Fire have been winning consistently all year, evident by winning the Supporters Shield and the U.S. Open Cup, but its quest for a second MLS championship and the elusive Triple will not be easy as they face the never-say-die San Jose Earthquakes in the eighth installment of the MLS Cup. The two teams will battle for the championship at MLS Cup 2003 at The Home Depot Center, live at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

SOCCER SHOCKER: Noberto Solano scored the equalizer in the 58th minute as Peru was able to pull out a 1-1 tie against five-time world champion Brazil on Sunday in a South American World Cup qualifying match in Lima, Peru. The draw give Brazil seven points from their first three matches, while Peru has four points.

QUOTABLE: “When I got here you couldn’t buy a soccer ball in Bloomington, and there were no soccer goals. Our players hung up sheets on trees around campus to announce our games. We’d go up into the dorms with fliers and schedules. We lined our own fields. My wife made the uniforms and did the laundry. We had to beg, borrow and steal for everything. But even then, we didn’t say we were a club; we were the I.U. soccer team."-- Indiana University head soccer coach Jerry Yeagley, who is retiring at the end of this year after 31 years. With 539 victories he needs just five more to tie Stephen Negoesco of the University of San Francisco for most wins in a college career.